Barcelona 4-1 Bayern: Raphinha hat-trick inspires Barca to emphatic win

Barcelona captain Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead his side to a commanding 4-1 home victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The win for Barca at their temporary Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys home ends a near decade-long winless run against the German powerhouses.

Raphinha’s inspired night started when he gave Barca the lead a little over a minute after kick-off as he received a fine pass through by midfielder Fermin Lopez, beat the offside trap and rounded the onrushing Manuel Neuer to tap into the empty net.

Harry Kane leveled the score with a volley in the 18th minute, only for Robert Lewandowski to put the home team back in front in the 36th minute against his former side after a mistake by Bayern’s defence.

Raphinha then extended Barca’s lead with two goals from quick counter-attacks either side of half-time.

Barca are ninth in the Champions League standings on six points from three games, while Bayern are 23rd on three points after a second consecutive defeat.

The stuff that dreams are made of. pic.twitter.com/bqRe130A6H

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 23, 2024

Data Debrief: Bayern blown away by brilliant Raphinha

This was expected to be a tight contest between two behemoths of the European game, but Raphinha had other ideas as he struck the first of his three goals inside just 54 seconds.

That is the second-earliest goal Barca have scored in the Champions League, beaten only by Mark van Bommel’s goal against Panathinaikos in 2005 after 36 seconds.

He is the first player to score twice in the first half of a Champions League game against Bayern since Neymar did so far Barcelona in May 2015, and he only added to the German side’s misery with his third in the second period.